Just to let you know we have moved blogs!

Onto bigger and better things of course!

Please continue to follow the 4WD journey at www.4wdfoundation.wordpress.com

Keep moving 4WD!

Naomi x

Are you 16+ with creative genes and a passion for social progress and international development?

Would you like to win an all expenses paid month long internship with the Global Mamas NGO in Accra, Ghana?

The internship will provide the winner with the opportunity to embark on a life changing journey to help female entrepreneurs grow their businesses and become self-sufficient through business and IT consulting and training.

All you need to do is become a member of the ASPECKS online community, buy one of their limited edition Global Citizen t-shirts and submit some creative content to the website about what it means to you to be a GLOBAL CITIZEN.

Entries will be judged on the basis of creative thought and effort and a cross-section of entries will be posted on the website. The most innovative articulation will win!

For more details, please check out the ASPECKS website.

-

Global Mamas is a non-profit and fair trade organization set up by the Women In Progress network that assists women to become economically independent.

ASPECKS exists to promote the spirit of cultural exchange and skills collaboration within the context of global society.

Apologies for how quiet we have been recently, a lot had been going on behind the scenes within the 4WD camp!

If you are on Twitter, please follow us as we are tweeting daily about information, opportunities and resources for young Londoners aged 11-25, while we get our official website sorted.

As we enter a new year, the 4WD team met and spent a lot of time reflecting on what we have achieved so far and thinking about our plans for the year ahead.

Following our meeting we have decided that in order to develop and strengthen 4WD’s brand identity, we will now begin operating as The 4WD Foundation.

We believe this will ensure we are much easier to find online (especially using search engines!!).

A very Happy (slightly belated) New Year from all here at The 4WD Foundation!

Let’s make 2010 a year of thinking, moving and living 4WD. It’s the only way!

Naomi

Last week I had the luxury of having a hot chocolate accompanied by a rather thought – provoking discussion with two very dear friends and fellow social entrepreneurs, Matt Kepple and Duane Melius.

Sharing stories and frustrations with these two fantastic young men is something I’ve had the pleasure of doing for a while, but this time it was different. In amongst our usual creative and visually aided ramblings and disagreements about the parameters of youth, engagement, social change, the economy, politics and the plight of the social entrepreneur, we stumbled across something rather beautiful, an Idea.

Well to be honest first we argued quite a bit and drew lots of random diagrams, but that’s normal. And then we came up with a cool question which is also pretty normal (we are a pretty cool questioning bunch) :

How could we combine our resources, experience and contacts to create a broader movement of improvement within youth engagement for social change?

And then the Idea came. Ragged, unformed, imposing and dangerous. It stormed upon us bit by bit until we got so dizzy with excitement we were quite frankly shouting the Coffee Shop down. We actually scared the lady sitting next to us away (but the guys wouldn’t let you know that!) We played with the Idea, pulled at it, questioned upon questioned it (and each other) and ‘thought-showered’ on it until we’d rubbed it up the wrong way so much that we could actually see our faces in the darn thing. Poor Idea.

So, here it is:

We now are creating a practitioners model for engaging young people in social change. One that acknowledges the variety and homogeneity within youth, the spectrum of ‘engagement’ and the tension between adult leadership and youth empowerment.

What do you think?

As the sunsets on Social Enterprise Day, please join the discussion around how we engage this next generation.

Please check out Matt’s blogpost on this same topic here

<3 Naomi Jane

Twitter: #SocEnt #GEW
www.yse.org.uk
www.wemakesense.org
www.live4wd.worpress.com

This post was originally blogged at http://blog.enterpriseuk.org/2009/11/19/engaging-young-people-in-social-action/

You can become part of this campaign and take action today by emailing your MP today.

We want to get the message across that under-18s should not be excuded from age discrimination protection in the Equality Bill. Your e-mail will help raise awareness of age discrimination against children and young people and could make a real difference as these issues are debated in Parliament.

Take part today by clicking on this link: http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=126&ea.campaign.id=4442

Experienced age discrimination yourself? Give your evidence to the Young Equals survey

Thank you as always for your help,

BRITISH YOUTH COUNCIL CAMPAIGNS

Deadline for January travel now extended to the 12th October!

Platform2 is a fully-funded global volunteering scheme for 18 to 25 year olds.

Apply now for a trip that will change your world.
You can volunteer for 10 weeks with Platform2, fully paid for, leaving in January 2010.

Platform2 is a global volunteering scheme for 18 to 25 year olds who wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit a developing country and get involved with global issues of justice and poverty.

Are you 18 and 25?
Have (or are eligible to have) a UK passport and are resident in the UK?
Great! Then apply today and you could be volunteering in India, Nepal, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa or Peru.

You can apply online or print off an application form to send in.

You will find lots of info to help you in our programme overview.

Young UnLtd is currently seeking volunteers to form a team of Young Researchers to gather insights about social change throughout the UK!

This is an exciting opportunity for any young person especially those wishing to:

· Develop their skills and understanding about social entrepreneurship

· Get a ‘behind-the-scenes’ view of what young social entrepreneurs have done to make their ideas a reality

· Learn techniques to develop and conduct valuable and relevant field research about young people and social change

· Be part of a team that will publish the research findings and disseminate a report to the public and private sectors

· Go on a 2-day training residential

This is an excellent opportunity for individuals who are interested in young people, social change, politics, community activism, or social entrepreneurship. Also participants will get hands-on experience doing research in the field as part of a nationwide project.

We are looking for young people between the ages of 16-25 to apply to become a Survey Researcher or an Interview Researcher.

For further information, see the attached application pack or contact Nick Micinski, Young UnLtd Research Coordinator, at nickmicinski@unltd.org.uk or (02075661467).

Applications are due by October 7th.

Are you passionate about your own development and achieving your dreams?

Would you like to help empower others to do the same thing?

If you are shouting YES! at the screen then

1 – LOL! &

2 – We need YOU!

We are running an exciting NEW project called ‘CROYDON: MOVE 4WD’ and need 10 passionate young people to become the first batch of 4WD AGENTS!

Hit us up asap at 4wdlondon@gmail.com with the below details (just copy and paste and fill in!):

——–

Full name:

DOB:

Borough:

Mobile:

What are you doing with yourself on a day-to-day basis right now?:

Give us a one liner about why you would like to become a 4WD AGENT:

——-
We’ll be in touch real soon!

“There’s a radical – and wonderful – new idea here… that all young people could and should be inventors of their own theories, critics of other people’s ideas, analyzers of evidence, and makers of their own personal marks on the world. Its an idea with revolutionary implications. If we take it seriously.” – Deborah Meier

Keep moving 4WD

The 4WD team

Autumn, kids heading back to school in shiny new uniforms, jumpers out… it’s time to book up for something exciting in January! Platform2 offers a global volunteering experience to 18-25 year olds from the UK. Change your world right now and apply today!

Hope you have had a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend!

Happy Easter for those who celebrate!

First a video for you! Reminds me of that age old accolade- Don’t judge a book by its cover…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Our wonderful Chi has set up a FB Group just for those who live, work, or have any associations to LAMBETH. If you wanna help LAMBETH move 4WD please join the new 4WD: LAMBETH group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68872411327&ref=ts

And the fantastic Agnes has set up a FB Group just for those who live, work, or have any associations or interest in LEWISHAM. If you wanna help LEWISHAM move 4WD please join the new 4WD: LEWISHAM group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71635980487

More borough groups are too follow…

Remember if you wanna jump on board the 4WD train now is the time! E-mail Simone for more details: simone.4wd@gmail.com

If you have got in touch, we will get back to you soon!

On with the update

–

SENSE MEDIA SHOUT OUT!

Firstly wanna big up DUANE over at SENSE MEDIA who empower young people through media… we had a meeting this week which is only going to benefit the 4WD movement- he has some serious stuff going on, check out SENSE’s blog at:

www.wemakesense.wordpress.com

SENSE is also having a youth consultation/workshop THIS SUNDAY (19th April)

You will be able to find out a lot more about SENSE, meet the team and will get to brainstorm with a BAFTA winner! STUART BAMFORTH has worked on programs like PIMP MY RIDE (UK). For more details on the consultation see FB event page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=82951353144

To book a place email info@wemakesense.org

–

The East End Film Festival is going down throughout April, see link for full details:

http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com/

–

CHARGE

Charge is a movement aiming to help young people break through into the media sector! They’ve got a few competitions going on right now for the MUSIC crew…

Get your music video on TV + win tickets to Wireless Festival

If you’re between 16-25 years old and have made a music video, then now is your chance to get it broadcast on national TV! To enter, simply send us your video. The five videos with the most views on our YouTube profile will be broadcast on Charge on Community Channel with the overall winner receiving tickets to The Wireless Festival at Hyde Park!

-

Make your own music video

Ever watched a music video and think you can do better?
If you’d like to make your own music video, then you can apply for a free place on the Charge music video workshop. You’ll also receive £400 to make your own video! Hurry places are limited!

-

WIN tickets to The Great Escape Festival

Maybe you just fancy winning some free tickets?
Enter our Youth Music competition and win tickets to see some of the best upcoming artists from around the world at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.

For more details on all these opportunities see:

www.communitychannel.org/charge

Check out the Charge Myspace page for the latest news:

http://www.myspace.com/chargetv

–

CULTURAL INDUSTRIES SHORT COURSES

City Uni London has a range of short courses designed to help develop the skills and knowledge needed to start or progress a career in MUSIC, FILM, TELEVISION, LIVE EVENTS, or VISUAL ARTS. Follow the link below for courses atarting in Aprl 2009.

www.cityac.uk/cae/cfa/cultural_creative_indiustries/index.html or e-mail:

cae@city.ac.uk

–

“You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realization.”-Denis Waitley

Remember to send any info to me for inclusion in the 4WD updates!

And keep checking the blog www.live4wd.wordpress.com

Keep moving 4WD team!

Naomi + the 4WD team